Relação entre a posse de bola e o resultado de partidas da UEFA Champions League

Abstract

This study aimed to verify the relationship between ball possession and match outcome in the UEFA Champions League. Official statistics from five seasons were analyzed, and descriptive analysis and the Chi-Square test were used for statistical analysis (p<0.05). Overall, teams with more ball possession won 49.2%, draw 22.0%, and lost 28.7% of the matches. In the group phase, teams with more ball possession won 50.5%, draw 23.0%, and lost 26.5% of the matches, while in the knockout phase, teams with more ball possession won 45.1%, draw 19.0%, and lost 35.9% of the matches. In general, teams with more ball possession won more matches in the competition, and this was especially true when the range of ball possession percentage between two teams in a match was higher.